The present invention relates generally to napkin dispensers and more particularly to a napkin dispenser with a modified dispensing aperture to prevent the unwanted dispensing of bunches of napkins.
Napkin dispensers are well known in the art. See for example U.S. Pat. No. 4,838,454 of Salzmann et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 4,311,252 of Hope, Jr. et al.; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,065,028 of Merila. One problem and indeed one of the major disadvantages of napkin dispensers of the class generally utilized to dispense interfolded napkins is the tendency for a user to grasp and remove an entire group of napkins, wastefully discarding what is not used. This problem is sometimes believed to be aggravated by bunching at the dispensing aperture and various means have been attempted to reduce or eliminate the problem of wastage of a plurality of napkins.
There is disclosed for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,679,703 to De Luca a device from preventing napkins from bunching at the dispensing opening in a napkin dispenser including a pair of pressure relief rods along the upper and lower portions of the dispenser face plate. The purpose of the rods is to relieve pressure between the face plate and the center portion of the napkin stack. Accordingly, the friction between each napkin is substantially reduced, thereby permitting individual napkins to be withdrawn from the dispenser without displacing napkins remaining in the stack.
There is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,343,415 to Radek a napkin dispenser configured for disposition on a table or counter including a top axis opening for loading and removing napkins. The opening is generally rectangular or may taper slightly from one end to the other. A salient feature is at the edges of the opening extend outwardly providing a relatively narrow peripheral arcuate flange or lip around the opening, the effect of which is to lead a napkin gently outwardly without likelihood of damaging the napkin. The design is reported to promote extraction of a single napkin at a time, resulting in substantial economy of operations.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,094,442 also to Radek there is disclosed another napkin dispenser with a generally rectangular opening with a concavely arcuate edge on one side from which the napkins are extracted. Two opposed sides of the opening are provided with a pair of relatively narrow spring biased leaves resiliently extendable into the container to facilitate loading, the free edges of the leaves being longitudinally gently oblique and widening toward the arcuate edge of the opening. The various features are reported to contribute toward convenient extraction of the napkin without damage.
The various techniques employed in the prior art for promoting extraction of a single napkin from an interfolded napkin dispenser are believed to have met with rather limited success, perhaps due to the relative complexity of the designs and the unpredictability of the consumer""s behavior. In accordance with the present invention there is provided a uniquely configured dispensing aperture which restricts the ability of a napkin consumer from inserting his or her fingers into the interior of the interfolded napkin dispenser.
There is provided in accordance with the present invention a napkin dispenser for dispensing a stack of interfolded napkins including an enclosure with a top, bottom, sidewalls, a back wall and a dispensing wall provided with a dispensing aperture spanning along its major axis at least the transverse dimension of an interfolded napkin to be dispensed therethrough; a pressure carriage slidably mounted in said enclosure provided with biasing means; the enclosure and pressure carriage are configured to receive a stack of interfolded napkins between the dispensing wall and the pressure carriage such that the biasing means urge the carriage and thus the stack of interfolded napkins towards the dispensing wall. The dispensing aperture defines a narrow elongated slit about its central portion and a pair of open areas about its terminal portions. The narrow elongated slit typically spans more than about 50 percent of the transverse dimension of an interfolded napkin being dispensed therethrough. The narrow elongated slit would still more typically span more than about 70 percent of the transverse dimension of an interfolded napkin being dispensed therethrough. The elongated slit generally has an opening width of from about {fraction (1/16)} inch to about ⅝ inch with from about xe2x85x9 inch to about xc2xd inch being typical. Particularly preferred are embodiments wherein the narrow elongated slit has an opening width of from about xc2xc inch to about xe2x85x9c inch.
At either end of the narrow elongated slit of the dispensing aperture are terminal portions having an open area span (i.e. open diameter) of at least about xc2xd inch. The terminal portions preferably have an open area span of at least about xc2xe inch and most preferably an open area span of at least about 1 inch. This open area span is required since the interfolded napkin dispensers are frequently replenished by a technician who fails to interfold the added napkins with the napkins already in the dispenser. Thus, when one interfolded stack charged to the dispenser is finished, the last napkin does not frictionally engage the next stack of napkins which has been loaded into the container so that the napkin being dispensed fails to draw the next napkin through the aperture. In this situation the user must have an ability to insert his or her fingers into the napkin dispenser in order to draw out the next napkin. By restricting this open geometry to the terminal portions the chances of a consumer grasping a plurality of bunched napkins is very much reduced.
In another aspect of the present invention there is provided a novel retraining insert for use in a napkin dispenser of the class including an enclosure with a top, bottom, sidewalls, a back wall and a dispensing wall provided with a dispensing aperture of relatively uniform dispensing width spanning along its major axis at least the transverse dimension of an interfolded napkin to be dispersed therethrough. The napkin dispenser typically includes a pressure carriage slidably mounted in the enclosure provided with biasing means wherein the enclosure and pressure carriage are configured to receive the stack of interfolded napkins between the dispensing wall and the pressure carriage such that the biasing means urge the pressure carriage and thereby the stack of interfolded napkins toward the dispensing wall. The napkin retaining insert is provided for modulating the dispensing width of the dispensing aperture. The insert is mounted on the dispensing wall and projects into the dispensing aperture of uniform width and as positioned is configured in dimension to define a narrow elongated slit about the central portion of the dispensing aperture as well as a pair of open areas about the terminal portions of the dispensing aperture. The open portions function as noted above, that is, wherein a stack of napkins which is not interfolded with the preceding stack loaded into the dispenser can be grasped so that the next collection of interfolded napkins can be dispensed without opening the napkin dispenser. Generally the napkin dispenser insert is of suitable dimensions to define the aperture characteristics referred to above. Typically the insert is adhesively mounted on the interior of the dispensing wall and is substantially planar with first and second parallel sides adjacent arcuatc sides therebetween, such that the arcuate sides will cooperate with the aperture in the dispensing wall to define the open terminal areas. In such embodiments the first parallel side is typically longer than the second parallel side and the longer or first parallel side is secured to the interior of the dispensing wall.
In general, the present invention relates to an improved dispensing aperture in a napkin dispenser including means for defining a restricted central portion of the aperture wherein the restricted central portion is operable to impede the withdrawal of more than a single napkin. The restricted central portion is adjacent two terminal open areas which allow a user to insert his or her fingers into the interior of the enclosures, whereas the restricted central portion prevents a user from inserting his or her fingers into the interior of the enclosure and easily grasping a large plurality of napkins. Even if a consumer grasps a plurality of napkins through an open terminal portion of the aperture, the central restricted portion will still operate to impede withdrawal of more than a single napkin from the dispenser. The unique geometry of the aperture of the present invention has the further advantage of better distributing the pressure over the napkins in the stack since there is more contact area in the dispensing wall. Also, in some embodiments a baffle plate extends into the top interior of the dispenser, tending to equalize the pressure applied to the bottom portion of the interfolded napkin stack by a spring. The front dispensing wall of the present invention typically includes a baffle plate which may or may not be integrally formed with the front wall and generally includes arcuate terminal portions. In some embodiments, an insert baffle plate is adhesively or otherwise secured in an aperture of relatively uniform width, for example, an elongated oval structure, to define the unique aperture geometry of the invention.
In some embodiments the second parallel side will have a matching radius of curvature of the dispensing aperture (typically its lower lip) so that the dispensing slit is of relatively uniform dimensions thereacross. So also, the second parallel side may project outwardly from the first parallel side particularly where the dispensing wall is generally convex in construction. Here again, the particular geometry will define a dispensing width of relatively uniform dimensions. The retaining insert may be made of any suitable material such as metal, plastic, filled plastic and so forth, but is perhaps preferably made of an amorphous plastic material such as polycarbonate. These and other features of the invention will become better understood through the description and drawings which follow.